Siheyuan's Silly Pillar has been replaced by someone else

When Wu Tiezhu got off work, he was blocked by Yan Bugui.

"Tiezhu, you're back."

Wu Tiezhu thought he was trying to take advantage of him, so he spread his hands and said, "Uncle Yan, don't look, I don't have anything on me."

Yan Bugui laughed and said, "Look at what you're saying. I'm stopping you, not because I want your things."

Wu Tiezhu didn't believe him at all. If Yan Bugui really had something in his hand, he would never have said that.

Yan Bugui wasn't embarrassed at all and continued, "I wanted to tell you something. Sha Zhu asked Xu Damao to bring you four lunchboxes. Go and take a look."

After thinking for two hours, Yan Bugui finally came up with a way to vent his anger. If Xu Damao didn't want him to take advantage of him, then he would prevent Xu Damao from doing so.

They forced Xu Damao to give the items to Wu Tiezhu.

"Why did He Yuzhu give me a lunchbox?"

"How would I know? Maybe he needs to talk to you about something. You should go check on him quickly. Don't let Xu Damao eat all the food in the lunchbox."

By the way, if there's anything you don't understand, I can help you for free..."

Watching Wu Tiezhu's departing figure, Yan Bugui couldn't bring himself to utter the remaining two words.

After struggling for a while, he finally managed to utter four words: "The world is going to the dogs."

Turning back home, still feeling indignant, he added, "Young people these days are really hopeless. They don't even know how to respect the elderly and care for the young."

When Wu Tiezhu arrived at the backyard, he knocked on Xu Damao's door.

"Yan Bugui told me that He Yuzhu asked you to bring me something?"

Xu Damao quickly explained, "No, I just used you as an excuse to prevent him from taking advantage of me."

"You're back just in time, have a drink with me tonight."

Wu Tiezhu did not refuse: "I'll go home first, wash my face, and come over."

He didn't come empty-handed; he brought over a plate of food from home and started drinking with Xu Damao.

By the time I got home, it was already 8:30.

Chen Xiaofang had been waiting for him, and when he returned, she helped him up.

Wu Tiezhu said, "Don't worry, I didn't drink too much. Xu Damao and I were just chatting."

Chen Xiaofang ignored him and waited until he was seated before asking, "What did you and Xu Damao talk about?"

"We didn't talk about much, just about He Yuzhu's restaurant."

Chen Xiaofang hesitated for a moment, then said, "What do you think about me resigning?"

"Why did you resign?" Wu Tiezhu was taken aback.

Chen Xiaofang said, "I just want to earn more money because I see others making money. Our eldest son has found a girlfriend but hasn't gotten married yet. Isn't the problem that he doesn't have a place to live?"
If our family were wealthy, we wouldn't have this worry.

Wu Tiezhu asked, "So what are you planning to do?"

Chen Xiaofang said, "Can I go to He Yuzhu's restaurant? I've worked in the steel mill canteen for so many years, I know everything about canteen operations."

Wu Tiezhu shook his head: "No."

Chen Xiaofang was surprised to be rejected by Wu Tiezhu, and said, "Why not?"

Wu Tiezhu said, "You've been to He Yuzhu's restaurant before. All the waitresses there are young girls in their early twenties."

"How old are you? What could you possibly do there?"

He and Xu Damao had just talked about the waiters at He Yuzhu's restaurant. The two men, speaking as men, gave their opinions on them.

Xu Damao also scolded He Yuzhu, saying that he must not have done anything good living in such an environment.

Chen Xiaofang retorted, "Isn't Liu Lan also working at his restaurant? Ever since Ma Hua left, the canteen at our steel rolling mill has been getting worse day by day."

The factory leaders outsourced the canteen to their relatives, and the food they served wasn't fresh.

The factory workers were dissatisfied, so we got yelled at and had our wages docked. I wanted to quit working there a long time ago.

Wu Tiezhu, who worked at the steel rolling mill, knew about the situation. He couldn't change it. "I'll ask He Yuzhu when I have the chance. But don't tell anyone else about this."

If other people find out, they'll definitely all come looking for him.

Chen Xiaofang rolled her eyes at him: "Do you even need to tell me that? You don't need to look for He Yuzhu. Wait for Ma Hua to come back and ask him."

Wu Tiezhu thought about it for a moment and decided it was a good idea, so he waited at home.

There are quite a few people who have this idea.

With the rise of private enterprises, many state-owned enterprises have been impacted. The steel rolling mill, however, is doing relatively well thanks to the legacy left by He Yuzhu.

Other people are different.

For example, Miao Jianye's factory wasn't doing well, so he kept thinking about doing something else.

Others, whose children saw that others in the yard were making money from business, all started thinking of ways to make money themselves.

However, they were afraid of being plotted against by the people in the courtyard, so they kept quiet. Besides, they didn't go back to live in the courtyard, so Yi Zhonghai and his people didn't know that.

Now, the residents of the nursing home are mostly elderly people; there are very few young people left.

Qin Huairu had been anxiously watching others make money for a long time. Now that he knew Yi Zhonghai could still make money, how could he possibly stand it?

Unable to persuade Yi Zhonghai, she chose other methods.

First, they refused to have the two families eat together, citing Jia Zhangshi's poor health as the reason.

The food delivered to Yi Zhonghai afterwards was of much lower quality.

She did this to tell Yi Zhonghai that the family was struggling and that it was necessary for him, the head of the family, to step up.

Yi Zhonghai understood what this meant and didn't want to compromise. He was already this age; if he went out to work again, people would laugh at him.

He didn't mind if Qin Huairu didn't want to cook for him; he had money, and there were plenty of places to buy things outside, so he wouldn't starve.

The people in the courtyard haven't noticed this change yet.

Around 10 o'clock, Wu Tiezhu found Ma Hua and told him about Chen Xiaofang's situation.

Ma Hua didn't dare to agree, saying, "Brother Wu, the restaurant is already full. But don't worry, my master is planning to open two factories, a food factory and a clothing factory."

"Once these two factories open, they'll be hiring. My wife will be going there too."

Wu Tiezhu asked in surprise, "Your restaurant is quite profitable. How come you can even operate two factories?"

Ma Hua whispered, "This isn't the restaurant's money. No matter how much the restaurant makes, it can't make that much. That money was all earned in Hong Kong."

Besides these two factories, my master is also planning to set up another factory, which seems to require fitters, welders, and the like.

"If you're interested, I'll let the foreman know when the factory is being built."

Wu Tiezhu had not considered leaving the steel rolling mill, but he had not refused the MCA's offer.

It's true that working in a steel rolling mill is a secure job, but the wages are low. Several people from their workshop were poached by other factories with higher salaries.

With the same skills, others can earn hundreds of dollars a month, while he can only earn tens of dollars. He really can't stand it.

He simply couldn't bring himself to suddenly give up his secure job at the steel mill.

When she got home, Chen Xiaofang learned of Ma Hua's proposal and began to persuade Wu Tiezhu.

Wu Tiezhu didn't completely believe her, and when he got annoyed, he said, "What do you know, you old woman? Who knows how long the reform and opening up will last?"

Chen Xiaofang retorted, unconvinced, "I don't understand, but our son does. When he comes back, you can ask him."

Wu Tiezhu thought that made sense, so he said, "Okay, I got it. Go to sleep now, you have to go to work tomorrow."

As the night passed, everyone began a new day.

The silent battle between Qin Huairu and Yi Zhonghai continued. Because both families ate in their own rooms, no one noticed, and Yi Zhonghai returned to his old, hard life.

No one knows where Qin Huairu got the old-fashioned cornmeal from, but she made cornbread for Yi Zhonghai every day. (End of Chapter)